Rodolfo Arruabarrena is set for another chance to show troubled former club Al Wasl what they are missing when he takes resurgent Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club to Zabeel Stadium on Friday.
Arruabarrena, 43, led the Cheetahs to two-successive top-three finishes in the Arabian Gulf League before last summer’s shock exit. His ex-employers have hovered near the bottom all season without him, while October’s decision by his current team has been rewarded by glory in the Arabian Gulf Cup, a spot in the President’s Cup final – earned by last month’s 5-1 last-four humiliation of Wasl at their ground – and charge up to second.
“I care more about my team and focus on them,” said the ex-Argentina left-back, whose charges will hope for a slip-up from shock unbeaten leaders Sharjah at promoted Bani Yas. “I do not keep myself busy with what is happening in the corridors of my former teams.”
Other highlights in round 20 include big-spending Al Nasr looking to build on a first win since December when they travel to Al Wahda on Saturday and Friday’s ‘relegation six-pointer’ between Dibba Al Fujairah and Fujairah.
